Trails Center hosts annual Pony Express Re-Ride

Facility offers free admission part of the day

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (NHTIC) will serve as a rider and mail exchange site during the National Pony Express Association’s annual re-ride through Casper, Wyo. on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. The exchange is estimated to occur around 9 a.m.

The public is invited to view the exchange from the NHTIC’s outdoor plaza. Admission to the Trails Center will be waived that day from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Due to the constant changing of riders along the trail and other factors, a set time for arrival at the NHTIC is not possible to ensure. Visitors are encouraged to arrive at the Trails Center early, take advantage of the free admission time, and tour the facility while awaiting the mail exchange.

Every summer, members of the National Pony Express Association (NPEA) conduct a re-ride of the national Pony Express Trail commemorating the historic enterprise that delivered the U.S. mail from 1860 to 1861. This summer, riders will depart Sacramento, Calif. on June 18 and ride east to St. Joseph, Mo. The re-ride is completed in 10 days, the same number of days it took 1860s Pony Express riders to deliver the mail. Riders plan to arrive in Wyoming on June 22 and depart the state on June 25, according to the Pony Express Re-ride website (www.xphomestation.com).

This year the public can keep track of the Pony Express Riders' progress via a real-time RF-ID GPS Satellite Tracking system. See the rider's speed and location, 24 hours per day at http://ponyexpressnationaltracking.com.

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is a public-private partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Historic Trails Center Foundation.